Work Package Leader

UNIWERSYTET EKONOMICZNY W POZNANIU UEP, Poland

Objectives

The general objective of this work package is the investigation and evaluation of the impacts of the structure and evolution of financial systems on the structure, ownership and performance of the real economy, and of the relationships between financialisation and the role of the State.

The specific objectives are:

  • To analyse the effects of financialisation on the re-structuring of the real economy and the evolution of financial system (for example through mergers and acquisitions, changes in ownership, governance and performance arising from the influence of financial institutions and financial innovations, disintermediation and consolidation in financial sectors).
  •  To analyse the changing forms of ownership in the financial sector (e.g. the general move away from public ownership notably of the banks, the decline in mutual and co-operative ownership) and how those changes have impacted on the ownership, governance, and behaviour of firms in the real economy, including the issue of investment levels and access to and the cost and terms of finance.
  •  To identify and explain the main factors (both positive and negative) influencing the supply of financial services to economic agents (including households and SME) and the access of households to financial services.
  •  To identify and analyse the role and impacts of finance on the achievement of the key goal of corporate social responsibility (CSR), with attention to the firm and industrial re-structuring (including outsourcing, downsizing and off-shoring) driven by the processes of financialisation and the impacts on key stakeholders such as workers, consumers, and local communities The main purpose is that of clarifying the requisites of a sustainable corporation, whose activity is fully consistent with the requirements of sustainable development and contributes to its implementation.
  • To analyse the rise of private equity, hedge funds, investment banks and sovereign wealth funds and to identify the costs and benefits of the effects of their operations for re-structuring of the real economy, for economic performance and stability, and for social cohesion.
  • To investigate the structural linkages between financialisation and the real economy with specific reference to two key sectors: housing and water. Both of these sectors have witnessed considerable transformation over recent years with a growing focus on marketisation but they share a strong social element with the state responsible for some level of provision because of their essential nature. The objective of the research is to determine the way financialisation affects the systems of provision for the delivery of housing and water and the consequent outcomes for equity. This is to be achieved with a cross-country investigation.

Wlodzimierz Dymarski Interview

Deliverables